““I will not drive them out before you in a single year, that the land may not become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. “I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land.” (Exodus 23:29–30, NASB95)
The Israelites were traveling to the Promised Land. God told them He was going to go before them and would give them the land, even though other peoples already lived there. He said He would not drive out all of the inhabitants of the land at once because it would not be good for Israel because wild animals would take over and would attack them when they showed up. He would drive some out immediately and others little by little.
God is always consistent in the way He works. For instance, God saves us from our sins when we give our life to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. He delivers us from the power and the penalty of sin, but sometimes He delivers from the proclivity to sin instantly, some little by little.
When I gave my life to Jesus in November of 1992, He delivered me from some sins immediately. One such deliverance was alcohol. Up to that time, I would classify myself as an alcoholic. I did not drink 24/7, but when I did drink, which was a quite often, I drank to escape and to get absolutely fall-downdrunk. There was never a time in my life where drinking was just, “having one with the boys.” I drank for one purpose: to get drunk. When I got drunk, I fought, was rude and generally not a nice guy. When I gave my life to Christ, my desire for alcohol went completely away. I do not think that I have purposefully had a drink since. I might have taken a sip of something I did not know was alcohol and immediately turned away from it a the taste, but the hole in my heart that I had been trying to fill with alcohol was filled and I no longer have that desire. God delivered me from that one instantly.
There are some areas in which I wish God would have delivered me instantly, but He has chosen to walk with me through the sanctification needed day by day. One of those is my pride. How do I know I have a pride problem? Because when people insult me, I feel insulted. When people leave me out, I feel left out. When people don’t like me, it bothers me. When my wife corrects me, I feel disrespected. This comes from pride. God has been working with me about this for the last 28 years and I suspect that He will continue to work on this until the day that I close my eyes in this life and open them in His presence. From this one, He is delivering me little by little.
Knowing God delivers some instantly and others little by little, I am left with some questions. So, what makes one instant and the other little by little? The wisdom and plan of God. Why would God not want to deliver me from all sins instantly? Why the continued struggle? Because He knows what I would become if He delivered me from all instantly. He knows what wild animals would overtake my heart. Would I be overtaken by lethargy, ambition or an inability to understand those with whom He did not choose to work that way? He knows that the condition of my heart might be worse. So, what am I to do when I lose the battle with one of the sins He is working on little by little? Simply put, repent. I do not need to spend time getting depressed or distraught. I need to acknowledge or confess to Him the sin He already knows about and turn away from it to the light of His forgiveness and submit to the work He is doing to deliver me little by little.
I don’t know what sin keeps capturing you, but if it something God is working on little by little, let Him do His work and you do yours. Thank Him for what He is doing and that He knows best and live for Him with every breath.